While Zheng Ya and Lao Yuan were chatting, Brigade Commander Lei rushed into the area of the traps. Zheng Ya promptly planned to destroy the traps, thus averting the crisis of Brigade Commander Lei's death.
The traps hidden in the bushes ended their mission and were destroyed.
Looking at the enemy soldiers lying dead and wounded all over the ground, Commander Lei exclaimed in shock, "They've all turned into hedgehogs! Are they not human anymore?"
"Zheng Ya, you're truly a martial arts master! You even know how to set up traps and mechanisms to kill enemies. Impressive!"
"Haha, it's alright. I'll leave the cleanup to you." As Zheng Ya spoke, he cut the straw rope that was hanging gold leaf from the treetop, and the gold leaf fell down in the wind.
Gold leaf is, after all, made of pure gold. Its value is unknown, but wasting it is a shameful thing.
Taking away the gold leaf was also a test.
Tao Xiangdong was captivated by the gold leaf, his eyes shining as he pondered how to get his hands on it.
Commander Lei agreed and called the old bureau chief to handle the aftermath. Fu Qingyao jogged over to Zheng Ya and called out, "Zheng Ya, son, I'm so glad you're alright, haha!"
"Uh, um, don't get excited, there are so many people..." Zheng Ya raised his hands helplessly, when Fu Qingyao hugged him tightly: "Son, Mom is sorry, please forgive Mom, okay?"
"Okay, Mom, let go first..."
"What are you putting down? I'm your mother, what's wrong with me hugging you?"
"Haha, congratulations on your reunion, mother and son! What are you looking at? Go clean up the battlefield!" Brigade Commander Lei laughed heartily, excitedly urging his men to clean up the mess.
No one on the battlefield is unharmed.
The surviving enemies were all wounded.
Strangely, the survivors were not the real enemies; they were likely hired helpers that the enemy had paid a lot of money to acquire.
In those days of famine, some people were willing to risk their lives for money.
Of the 87 survivors, none of them were evil people.
These people contributed no more than fifty points of deceit to Zheng Ya, so Zheng Ya took extra care of them and didn't let them die violently in the bushes.
There's no benefit in killing them.
Since the Zhengde value is not increasing, it's better not to kill him; keeping him to contribute to the faithlessness value is not bad either.
The military and police began to gather them under custody, sent telegrams to relevant units requesting assistance, and busied themselves cleaning up the battlefield.
Tao Xiangdong kept glancing at the gold foil in Zheng Ya's hand. To provoke him and help him break free from his mother's embrace in this life, Zheng Ya slightly squeezed the gold foil with his right hand: "Snap."
The gold leaf turned into soft mud, which he could easily crush in his hands.
"Ah, what are you doing?" Tao Xiangdong exclaimed in shock, his eyes blazing with fury, as if he wanted to devour Zheng Ya alive.
Damn you, Zheng Ya! The Muchen Pearl gold foil has been ruined by someone! You deserve to die!
Why don't you just die?
Tao Xiangdong's wife, Lei Yanyun, tugged at his sleeve and said, "Xiangdong, what are you doing?"
"I... I just regret that he damaged the gold foil of the Muchen Pearl. That's a national treasure. How could he destroy it so easily?"
"He's committed a crime..." Tao Xiangdong became more and more agitated as he spoke, almost to the point of accusing Zheng Ya of heinous crimes and executing him on the spot.
Little did he know that several people at the scene noticed something was wrong with him.
First of all, Lao Yuan had known for a long time that Tao Xiangdong was an enemy agent, but he just didn't have the evidence to expose Tao Xiangdong's enemy agent identity, so he kept it to himself.
Secondly, Lei Yanyun had long suspected Tao Xiangdong of acting suspiciously and that he might have gone astray, but she had not found any evidence of his crimes and had been keeping quiet about it.
Finally, Fu Qingyao keenly noticed that Tao Xiangdong's gaze was strange, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Tao Xiangdong's hostility aroused Fu Qingyao's vigilance.
Moreover, there was Zheng Ya, who had already seen through Tao Xiangdong. He immediately broke free from his mother's embrace. Seeing that he had to deal with important matters, Fu Qingyao let go of him and stood aside to watch the show. Zheng Ya turned to Tao Xiangdong and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, you're quite the talker."
They immediately accused me of several crimes with just a few words.
"Then can I say that you harbor malicious intentions and have infiltrated Commander Lei's inner circle with ulterior motives?"
"You're spouting nonsense! Just wait to be arrested and punished!" Tao Xiangdong was furious. He couldn't bear to see the Muchen Pearl and its gold foil destroyed, ruining a hope for immortality!
It's as if Zheng Ya's possession of the Muchen Pearl Gold Foil is his for the taking, unless he destroys it.
Old Yuan gave a cold laugh and quietly approached Wu Wei, wary of Tao Xiangdong suddenly attacking and hurting his daughter.
Tao Xiangdong had a bomb strapped to his body—a high-explosive device disguised as a vest—he wore it with malicious intent.
Wu Wei, unaware of the situation, was embarrassed and at a loss. She didn't know whether to let him or not, and she felt uncomfortable with her biological father's approach. So she looked to her adoptive mother, Fu Qingyao, for help.
Fu Qingyao offered a helpless smile, "Just take it!"
Children will never grow up if they don't experience life's challenges!
Zheng Ya smiled calmly and said, "This is our first meeting. Why would I say that you are lurking around Commander Lei with ulterior motives?"
Instead of talking about others?
Actually, this makes making mistakes inevitable.
The key is your attitude and actions after making a mistake—whether they lead you down the right path. Shouldn't you reveal your true colors now?
"You little brat, what have you figured out?" Tao Xiangdong grabbed his wife Lei Yanyun's neck, ignoring the brigade commander's angry glare and Lei Yanyun's utter disappointment, and stared at Zheng Ya and her son, asking through gritted teeth.
Even now, he still doesn't believe that Zheng Ya has truly seen through him?
Even Lao Yuan, a martial arts master with peak Grandmaster strength, couldn't see through Tao Xiangdong's disguise.
However, when Zheng Ya made his point clear, Lao Yuan carefully examined Tao Xiangdong's skin and suddenly discovered a few flaws: a human skin mask.
Has this skill been lost long ago?
Could this person really possess the ability of a thousand-faced butcher?
Amidst Lao Yuan's doubts, Zheng Ya laughed and said, "Haha, you won't shed tears until you see the coffin, old comrade?"
You're in your forties or fifties, wearing a mask to pretend to be young, playing dirty tricks and plotting something sinister. Do you really think no one in the world sees through your little schemes?
"Hahaha, good, very good, you and your son are both good. Today, none of you will leave alive!" Tao Xiangdong, holding Lei Yanyun hostage, approached Zheng Ya and her son.
Fu Qingyao immediately recognized his identity and laughed in exasperation: "Tsk tsk tsk, Tao Sheng, Tao Sheng, you really are something else."
You deserter from the battlefield, you've been running away for half your life and accomplished nothing.
How did I end up hiding my face and acting like a rat in the gutter, stealing people's food everywhere...?
"Fu Qingyao, shut up! I've been so devoted to you, why the hell are you so cold and dismissive to me?"
"What do I lack that makes me unworthy of you, you bastard... ah..." Tao Sheng roared through gritted teeth in a fit of rage, but before he could finish cursing, he was punished.
Cursing someone's mother to their face, does that mean the mother doesn't have a son to defend her?
Zheng Ya directly rewarded him with his planning ability, a rotten tongue, causing Tao Sheng to spit blood and scream in pain. Zheng Ya clapped his hands and cheered: "Haha, you're the kind of person who spews blood, how about another one?"
"Waaah, don't force me to detonate the explosive pack and we'll all go to the Western Paradise together..." Tao Sheng belatedly realized he couldn't afford to offend Zheng Ya and Lao Yuan, so he immediately tore open his shirt, revealing the explosive pack vest, and began to threaten them...
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